


imāgō

by 4wholecats



Series: The Babysitter's Club and Other War Stories [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Horror, Multi, but was Too Long and TOO DARK, forma, was written as chapter 15 of babysitters club and other war stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:13:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23306602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4wholecats/pseuds/4wholecats
Summary: imāgō -inis f.Meaning: image, form, figureThere is a forma of Seth living in the barracks of Askr
Relationships: Frederick/Seth/Tiamat | Titania
Series: The Babysitter's Club and Other War Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676077
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	imāgō

**Author's Note:**

> WARNINGS FOR: graphic violence, graphic death scenes, conversations about what does and does not qualify as a human being, vomiting
> 
> I was talking on twitter about liking the idea of forma being soulless meat computers powered by black magic that freak everyone out, and here we are now.

“Those… what are they called? Forma? They’re really… something.” Titania remarked quietly. Seth agreed with a silent nod of his head, following her gaze down the hall to where a stiff figure could be seen, standing stock still in the light of a nearby window.

The forma made most of the army uncomfortable, and rightly so. They were perfect copies of beloved friends and comrades, but devoid of any conscious soul to speak of. They were flesh, and they could bleed, but very few members of the army would argue that they were human. Recently, the summoner had begun manufacturing them false souls using black magic. While the new souls kept their bodies from unraveling outside of the hall of forms, it didn’t keep them from having empty, dead stares.

Seth made a point to not look his doppelganger in the eyes as he and Titania passed. 

\---

Seth worried. He worried about a lot of things, as was his natural disposition, but the blank stare of his forma wouldn’t leave his mind. He stared at the papers on his desk, unfinished and dimly lit in the waning light of a nearly burned out candle. The words were starting to become blurry, the exhaustion sinking in. The sounds of fabric shifting behind him focused his attention.

“Seth? Are you still awake?” Frederick’s voice was gravely with sleep. Seth turned in his chair to face the bed, where Frederick sat, blinking in the low light. “It’s nearly-” the man squinted at the clock on the wall, “it's nearly four in the morning. Come to bed.”

Seth considered his work for a moment more, idly wondering whether it was worth finishing that night (or rather, morning), but after another urge from Frederick, he blew out the candle and all but collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to change out of his day clothes. Frederick tossed a blanket over both of them carefully, as to not wake Titania, and pulled Seth closer into his arms. 

“What’s got you so stressed,” the great knight mumbled into his hair.

“I’m always stressed, Frederick. There’s always so much to do.”

“Mmm… I can’t argue with that, but… working until four in the morning on documents that usually take less than an hour isn’t like you. Something’s definitely up.”

“...”

“You can confide in me, if it weighs so heavily on your mind.”

Seth thought for a moment. Normally, he wouldn’t dare distract others with his personal problems, but if  _ he _ was shaken, then this issue could certainly be affecting others, which would then further affect morale…

“I can hear the wheels in your head spinning, and it’s giving me a headache.” Frederick said, as sternly as he could in his half-awake state.

“You see right through me… Tell me, Frederick, how do you feel about the forma?”

“The forma? They’re a bit odd. I can’t say I like them very much, but I can see how they would be useful. They remind me of the risen soldiers for my own home.”

“I feel similarly… they’re a bit too close to revenants for my comfort. And there’s one in the palace now that looks exactly like me.”

Frederick sighed and began to rub small circles on Seth’s back with his thumb.

“He’s stronger than me. He doesn’t question orders. He doesn’t get distracted by worries like this. I just keep thinking about… if the summoner will still have need of me. I’m not ready to be sent home yet.” 

“I won’t deny that the forma are strong, but the summoner values all of us as people, not just pieces of meat. No amount of power can make up for the knowledge you’ve gained through your experiences. Forma are basically infants when it comes to that kind of thing.”

Seth hummed to himself. “Normally I would worry about our commander getting too attached to any of their soldiers… but I won’t deny that your words are at least a little comforting. Thank you Frederick.” The other man grunted in sleepy recognition.

The last thing Seth thought of before sleep took him, was not the cold dull stare of the forma, but of those that were here to support him, no matter how outclassed he felt. 

\---

The forma had a very precise schedule. At dawn, it would leave its assigned room, standing outside in the hallway for a few moments before navigating to the mess hall. It would sit alone, eating slowly before leaving. It could then be found at the training grounds for the majority of the day, repeating the exact same set of moves over and over, challenging no one. Then, it would perform it’s assigned duties, and take an evening meal alone in the corner of the dining hall, as far away from everyone else as physically possible. Then, it would go back to it’s room for the rest of the day, presumably to sleep, before repeating the cycle again the next morning. 

Seth made a point not to come in contact with it often, which usually wasn’t a problem. They were never stationed on the same team due to having the exact same strengths, and it kept to itself for the most part, only ever seeking the summoner out if something was wrong. Which was why Seth nearly jumped out of his skin when he passed by it in the hallway, and it addressed him directly. 

“W-what can I do for you?” He responded, trying very hard not to look into it’s empty, pupil-less,  _ glowing _ blue eyes. 

It froze for a moment, expression blank. Then it twitched, turning to face him completely. In the early dawn light filtering through the window, the paladin could see a fuzzy blue halo of particles swirling around it’s head, residue from the black magic used to bring this  _ thing _ to life. The blue cloud twisted and redirected itself erratically, almost as if it was thinking. 

“Library. Where.” Even though they technically had the same voice, the forma didn’t sound like him at all, speaking almost completely without intonation or inflection. 

“Second floor. In the east wing, at the end of the hall overlooking the garden.” 

The forma blinked, the light in its eyes dimming and then brightening again. 

“Thank you,” it said, before turning on it’s heel and heading in the direction of the stairs. Seth felt as if he might vomit, and abandoned his path to the mess hall. The walk back to his room was thankfully uneventful; it was so early in the morning that most people were still asleep. Titania was still in their room, adjusting the laces on her boots.

“Hey,” she said, glancing up to greet him as he shut the door behind him and leaned against it. She went back to tying her shoes before doing a double take. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, are you alright?”

“It spoke to me”

“What spoke to you?”

“The forma. The forma that looks like me.” Titania frowned at that.

“That’s a little odd, what did it want?”

Seth stepped away from the door and sat down in his desk chair with the grace of a man who’s femurs had been turned into jello. 

“It just wanted directions. To the library.” Titania finished knotting her laces and straightened up in her seat. 

“That's not terribly odd… but it must be strange talking to yourself, huh.”

“I don’t know why it puts me on edge so much, Titania. The last time I was that scared, I had someone else’s weapon in my shoulder.”

“If it’s upsetting you so much, you should speak to the summoner. They do care about all of us, and I’m sure they’d be able to do something about it… they made the damn thing after all.”

If Seth was slightly less mature, he would have made a whining noise. “I can’t do that. It has its uses after all… I just. I just hate looking at it. And talking to it. I hate it, Titania.”

“Strong words, especially from you. Now come, get up. Some food will do us both good right now.”

\---

It was a week before the forma approached him again. This time, it trapped him in the armory, haunting the doorway like a spectre as he gathered his weapons and armor, intent on training. He noticed it only when the dull glow of its eyes reflected off Silverbrand’s polished blade. 

“Seth.” It still spoke in that dull, toneless voice. Seth cringed slightly before turning to face the beast. 

“Hello. How are you today?” The best course of action, he had decided a few days ago, was to act like there was nothing wrong at all. This was just another comrade, and since they were fighting on the same side, it was in everyone’s best interest to get along. The forma blinked at him before stepping further into the room, thankfully leaving the door wide open behind it. It blinked at him, processing the question.

“Sparring.”

“What was that?”

“Sparring. Training.”

Seth nodded slightly, and the forma turned towards one of the weapon racks.

“Together. Sparring,” it repeated itself. Seth’s mouth went dry. It wanted to train with him?

“You usually train alone,” he said, watching as the forma reached for a discarded iron sword.

“Orders. Summoner.” So the summoner was involved now too… Did they know that he was uncomfortable? Was this some strange effort to force him to get used to his double? Maybe he should have talked to the commander after all. His skin was crawling again.

“If it’s the summoner’s orders… I can spar with you for a little bit, I suppose,” he said, voice so quiet it was nearly a whisper. He watched as the other turned around to leave. “Wait, what about your armor?”

“Armor.”

“Yes. You can’t train without it, if you want to use real weapons.”

The forma turned it’s blank stare from him back to the storage space, looking for his set. It was very similar to Seth’s own, but without the emblem of Renais on the front. This soldier belonged to no country but that which had made him. He put it on mechanically, and followed Seth out of the room.

The training grounds were sparse. A few other pairs danced around each other in the mid afternoon sun, swiping and dodging, but the air was chilly and the breeze made staying outside a little too cold to be comfortable. The forma, in its standard issue Askr cavalry uniform, didn’t seem to mind at all, even though it didn’t have the same thick overcoat that Seth did. It waited for him to start, responding to attacks with startling accuracy. It gained the advantage quickly, not bogged down by stress, tiredness, or pain from injuries half healed.

However, the veteren knight did have one very big advantage. The forma was nothing if not predictable. It would always choose the most efficient, straightforward option, and it was bound by the laws of swordplay, nearly to a fault. All of it’s moves were by the book, and while they were performed flawlessly, once Seth began to see a pattern, the fight was as good as over. As it lunged again, sword falling in a perfectly heavy arc, Seth sidestepped instead of blocking, sticking his foot out as he went. The forma, not anticipating this unorthodox strategy, tripped, falling to the ground like a stone. It’s sword skittered across the dirt far out of reach as Seth brought his own weapon to the copy’s throat. 

He could do it. He could do it right now; slit its throat and say it was a training accident. But… he wouldn’t. It was not his place to take lives, if forma could even be called ‘living’. He withdrew his sword from its neck, and held out his hand to help the copy up. It took it, and Seth was almost surprised to feel that it was warm through the fabric of his glove. It withdrew as soon as it was standing, moving to collect it’s escaped weapon. It sheathed the sword, and Seth expected it to retreat back to it’s usual corner, ready to practice some more in the face of defeat. However, it didn’t leave, instead approaching him again. 

“Defeat…” it said. It spoke with the same dull tone as ever, but underneath there was almost a hint of uncertainty, as if it had never been beaten before and was confused about it. 

“Yes, you were. If you want to win, you can’t just repeat the same attacks over and over; you have to pay attention to your opponent and outsmart them.” Seth said, leveling his gaze at the other. The forma considered him again, cocking its head slightly to one side as it’s cold eyes bored holes in his face. 

“Seth.”

“Yes?”

The corner of the forma’s mouth twitched.

“Seth.”

“What.”

It took a step closer, and Seth took a step back.

“Seth?”

“What. What do you want from me.” He was definitely feeling more than a little nervous now. The forma paused again, eyes dimming and reigniting. It was thinking hard, from the looks of it. It’s mouth opened, and it’s next word made Seth’s blood run cold.

“Eirika?”

If Seth’s guard wasn’t up before, it was certainly up now. Fear and discomfort turned into something more familiar. Years of protecting royalty bounced around in his head, telling him that this was no longer an inconvenience. A threat? That remained to be seen. 

“What about her.”

“Ephraim…”

“What do you want with them?” Seth spoke with defensive conviction now. Even in this strange new world, he would protect his prince and princess, especially from a monster parading around in his skin. He didn’t know whether the forma could sense his agitation (and if it could, whether or not it cared), but it stepped back. 

“Safe… defeat…”

Seth paused for a moment. “Yes, they are both safe. Why do you ask.” Was it threatening them?

It jolted slightly, bringing a hand up to it’s chest.

“I..” It stared blankly over Seth’s shoulder before dropping it’s hand, mumbling the man’s name one more time, and taking its leave. 

The paladin tasted bile. 

\---

“Summoner. I need to speak to you.”

Seth rarely darkened the doorway to the summoner’s quarters, but after what had happened at the training grounds, he’d had enough. 

“Seth, I hardly see you come around here. What can I do for you?” The summoner was friendly, gesturing to a seat in front of their desk. Seth entered the room, but made no motion to sit, folding his hands behind his back. 

“Summoner, I need to speak to you about the forma.”

The summoner leaned back in their seat. “Is one of them malfunctioning? Some of them have problems once in a while, getting stuck in loops and such…”

“Uh, I don’t believe so. I believe that the forma who takes after myself may be planning an attack on Princess Eirika and Prince Ephraim.”

The summoner raised an eyebrow. “That’s a tall accusation, Seth. What makes you think that?”

“The forma challenged me to a spar, and it spoke about them unprompted. It also questioned their safety after I defeated it. I have reason to believe it was looking for gaps in my defense in an attempt to get closer access to the prince and princess.” He said. The summoner’s mild expression bothered him; were they not concerned about the safety of their heroes in the slightest?

“Seth, sit. I insist.” They gestured again to the chair. He considered it for a second before complying, sitting stiffly. 

“Seth, I highly doubt that the forma has it out for anyone. It’s probably just just copying you in it’s own weird little way.”

The paladin’s eyes narrowed. “Why would it be doing that?”

“... Really? Seth, it’s  _ you _ . It’s soul was blueprinted off of  _ you _ . It’s probably as concerned for them as you are, even if it doesn’t articulate it in the same way.”

“It’s… me?”

“Yeah man. It looks like you, who else would I have shoved in there?”

“What are you talking about.”

The summoner sighed, motioning with their hands as they talked. 

“See it’s hard to explain, ‘cause none of you know what computers are. So basically, a forma is an empty body, made of meat and bones and stuff, just like you and me. But if it goes outside the hall of forms, it turns into blood sludge because there’s no soul inside to hold it all together. But they’re really strong allies, right? So we want to keep them around. In order to get around the ‘dissolving’ issues, I get our dark mages to make these,” the summoner said, pulling a small, blue object out of a drawer of their desk. It glowed the same dull color as the forma’s eyes.

“This bad boy is a forma soul. We make them plain like this one, and then you can put the souls of people inside so that they know how to do important things like eat, sleep, and fight. Not REAL people of course, we just make copies of people that already are around. Like you! Turns out you can only use the soul of the person that matches the body, and of course we don’t pick the bodies that the hall of forms spits out…”

“I can’t believe this…” Seth mumbled. On one hand, not having to defend against an attack from within the castle was good, but this was still so… wrong.

“So like I said, it IS you. Mostly. Kinda like your brain, in your body, but with the soul of an automaton or something like that. You know what automatons are, right?” They didn’t wait for an answer. “But anyways, as you can see, no one is in any danger from them at all, because unless you have a secret desire to maim your lord and lady, the forma should be just as dedicated to protecting them as you are!”

“I didn’t give my permission for this. I never would have given my permission for this.”

The summoner raised their hands slightly, motioning him to calm himself.

“I know it sounds wild, but I don’t pick the forma that come out of the hall, remember? It’s basically just like summoning! And you kinda did give your permission, when you chose to stay under Askr’s contract, remember?”

Seth could only stare at the summoner despairingly. When he had said that he would be willing to give everything to their cause, he had certainly never meant this.

\---

He found the forma again on his way back to his room, while mentally preparing to explain the situation to Frederick and Titania, which would then be followed by the longest and most well deserved night of sleep in his life. The copy was standing by the window, as it often (he often? The summoner had been vague when Seth had asked whether or not they were actually people, or simply puppets) did. Seth wondered if it (no, he. It’s he. He’s a person like you, he IS you-) was truly looking at the scenery, or if he was just staring for the sake of staring, mind as empty as his eyes. 

As if on cue, the forma turned his head slowly to look at him.

Seth hurried past him, not daring to look back.

\---

Weeks later, a battle was finally at hand. Hel was practically knocking at their doors, and it was time to assemble the Order to defend the castle from her skeletal clutches. The cavalry would lead the charge, as was tradition, which found Seth in the armory again, gathering his weapons and armor for real this time.

“I hope this won’t be as bad as they say,” the voice of a young man said from his left, as Silas came into view on his way to grab his lance, “Hel’s forces sound… They sound terrifying. How can we be expected to kill death herself?”

“Hel hasn’t arrived yet, just her generals.” Seth finished gathering his supplies and moved to where his saddle was hung on the wall. “Lif and Thrasir may be legendary adversaries, but I say we have enough of those on our side to even the playing field at least a bit.”

“You sound awfully confident, General… I’ll take your word for it,” the young boy grimaced before leaving to tend to his horse. 

He followed Silas to the stables, and moved to form up with the other paladins. At the front of the army he could make out the small form of the summoner, giving orders and pointing soldiers in directions. Between them and himself, he saw a very familiar crop of red hair… 

No. Now was not the time to get distracted by  _ him _ . 

Unfortunately, his attempts to not get distracted were all for naught, because the summoner placed them on the same team. They would be going up against Lif, along with Princess L’Arachel and and Lady Cecilia running as their back up. They would be attempting to flank the general from the woods and cut him off from the rest of his army, silencing him before he had the chance to set foot on the castle grounds.

The journey, for the most part, went well. L’Arachel was even able to maintain a reasonable level of silence while they rode, evidently understanding that this mission was dependent upon the element of surprise. Lady Cecilia was knowledgeable about the terrain, and of course, the forma was as quiet as ever, following every command given to him. 

It took them less than an hour to happen upon the enemy, but unfortunately, L’Arachel’s tome was not strong enough to finish the job in one shot. Lif turned on them the second her magic bounced off his armor, seething beneath his glowing mask. 

“Don’t let him touch you! Flank him!” Seth barked out, abandoning the previous strategy. If the undead king actually managed to catch up with any of them, it was doubtful they would get away unscathed. The mages scattered, horses racing up and away from the enemy into the surrounding woods to fire spells upon him at a distance. Seth spurred his horse away, wanting as much distance between him and Lif as possible so that he would have time to think of another plan. The summoner wasn’t here, and usually they were responsible for handing out orders in emergencies…

Seth turned his horse back around just in time to see Lif’s sword collide with the forma’s shield. He hadn’t heard the retreat order.

“Get back!” Seth yelled, causing the copy to look up. Lif roared like an animal, knocking away the paladin’s shield while he was distracted. The forma’s horse spun and reared up, spooked by the supernatural aura that was pouring of Lif in waves, knocking the doppelganger to the ground. Seth saw a shine of light from somewhere beyond the treeline, L’Arachel lining up her final shot. He heard more voices around them; Lif’s men were gathering around the mages, Cecilia keeping them at bay with one volley of wind magic after another. 

The forma hit the ground with a thud, rolling back to his feet flawlessly before blocking another incoming strike from above. Seth began to circle the two on horseback, preparing to dive in when an opening presented itself. The light of Ivaldi began to descend from the sky, and he shouted to his other to move, or he would be hit. The other man staggered back.

The blinding flash consumed all of Lif but his sword, which swung upwards at the very last moment, burying itself firmly within the sternum of the forma before chopping down, opening his insides up like a poorly sewn sack splitting a seam. 

Lif yelled in pain and warped away in a flash, badly hurt but probably not defeated, taking his sword with him. 

The forma didn’t say anything as the weapon disappeared from his insides, but even from several feet away, Seth could see his eyes were wide with shock, and his mouth was open in a silent scream. The double dropped his own weapon to grasp at his gaping wound with both of his hands, falling to his knees, and then onto his back. 

Seth dismounted before his horse had properly stopped, hitting the dirt next to the forma and grasping at the contents of his own emergency medical pack. As the team leader it was his responsibility to keep everyone safe and away from harm, and by the gods, this mission was going so very badly already.

He could see the slick wet textures of the other man’s intestines as he struggled on the grass soundlessly. His blank expression was more urgent than usual, almost afraid. 

“ _ Stop moving _ !” Seth commanded, finally finding a vulnerary. 

The forma continued to kick and claw at the dead grass, expression growing more intense as his eyebrows furrowed. 

No matter how they are made, all men are capable of feeling fear. 

Seth uncapped the medicine and poured it over the wound, but it was too deep, and there was far too much blood-

“S-Seth-” The forma was looking at him now, not through him like he usually did. He glared even as his eyes began to flicker in and out, the cloud of black magic dissipating and settling into the dirt. 

“S-eth!” He grabbed the front of the paladin’s coat with his blood-slicked hand, stronger than should have been possible given his injuries.

“Stop moving!”

“Safe…” Blood was coming out of his mouth now, and through the opening in his body, Seth could see his insides writhing like snakes. “Eirika… E-Ephraim…”

“Yes. I’m keeping them safe.” Seth responded. The forma stopped struggling, letting go of Seth’s coat. He looked at him again, and with his eyes now a dull, dark blue, they looked almost normal in the shadows of the trees overhead.

“G… G-ood.”

The forma dissolved with a horrible crunching sound and muscle, sinuses, and bones all became unbound from their soul at once, forming a terrible puddle of red and pink sludge that smelled like burning meat. 

Under the holy light of Ivaldi, Seth vomited onto the dead earth. 

\---

“Those forma… they’re really something, aren’t they?” Titania remarked as they made their way up the stairs of the castle one evening. Even though the battle was long since won, Seth could still feel the slick of blood on his skin, and the sound of bones crunching to wet dust still played over and over in his ears.

“I suppose they are.”

There was an empty bed in the barracks now, and somewhere deep in the bowels of Askr, the hall of forms was waking. 

**Author's Note:**

> the rest of bsc&ws: adults talking about the weather and having a generally okay time  
> this monstrosity: does having a soul make you human? have you ever seen yourself die? would you kill the man that wears your face?
> 
> i would like to apologize to seth and also god

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [terra forma](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23500267) by [mxkay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mxkay/pseuds/mxkay)




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